We are proud to share NFL Films Legend and Tape Wizard Greg Cosell’s raw notes from his film observations. We’ll be releasing his notes every week, either on Wednesday or Thursday.
CHIEFS OFFENSE VERSUS TEXANS DEFENSE
Texans base defense: Roby and Hargreaves outside corners, Reid and Murray the safeties, McKinney/Cunningham/Scarlett the LB
Texans sub nickel: Roby and Hargreaves predominantly outside corners (depending on Chiefs formation and coverage call), Rookie Jo. Reid primarily the third corner (32 snaps predominantly in the 1st half), Ju. Reid and Murray the safeties, McKinney and Cunningham the LB
Texans sub dime: Roby, Hargreaves and Jo. Reid the corners; Ju. Reid, Murray and Moore the safeties; Cunningham the LB – In cover 1 Murray and Ju. Reid both matched up on Kelce
Texans featured a big nickel package with Ju. Reid, Murray and Moore, playing it both versus Chiefs base personnel and 11 personnel; Ju. Reid often matched up to WR versus 11 personnel – Texans featured big nickel in the 1st half, It was game planned; Moore was the matchup on Kelce on 6 yard TD in 2nd quarter
Roby predominantly matched up to Hill, just as he did in the AFC playoffs in 2019; Johnson played significant snaps at outside corner both in base and sub nickel opposite Roby in the 2nd half
Chiefs continued to feature 1x3 sets out of 11 personnel with Kelce the boundary x aligned in multiple splits including nub
Texans played significant snaps of man coverage out of their sub defenses, both cover 1 and 1 robber with Cunningham on Kelce in sub dime
Texans 2nd half snaps out of sub nickel with Hargreaves the slot corner and Roby and Johnson outside
Rookie corner Jo. Reid struggled at times in man coverage versus Watkins
Mahomes missed a TD to Kelce on first possession of 3rd quarter: Great 3 man vertical route concept versus zone (Chiefs cover 2) including post-wheel, Kelce wide open on the wheel but Mahomes did not turn it loose – Next play was Edwards-Helaire 27 yard TD
Safeties Ju. Reid and Murray both have corner skills and can match up to both TE and WR
Texans a predominant over front out of their base 4 man DL defense versus Chiefs base personnel, They featured under fronts when they aligned in 3-4 front looks
Texans at times featured 5 across Bear fronts out of sub nickel with either Cunningham or McKinney on the LOS on the outside
Edwards-Helaire runs: RPO, outside zone (both I back {at times out of straight I} and shotgun), gap scheme (I back at times out of straight I), inside zone (shotgun), pin-pull (I back)
Edwards-Helaire outstanding lateral quickness and change of direction, Short area and re-acceleration burst, Patience and vision, Contact balance, Make-you-miss at the second and third levels
Strong performance by the Chiefs OL in the run game, They looked aggressive and physical; From the Texans perspective their DL was moved too easily and at times played high
Chiefs continued to feature the RPO game, A foundation of their offense in 2019 and will likely be this season
TEXANS OFFENSE VERSUS CHIEFS DEFENSE
Chiefs big nickel versus Texans 12 personnel and at times 11 personnel: Sorensen was the third safety, Hitchens and Wilson were the LB – Rookie Sneed was the corner opposite Ward, Fenton also played significant snaps on the outside
Hitchens, Wilson and Niemann were the 3 LB in the Chiefs 4-3 base defense; More snaps of big nickel than base 4-3
Chiefs sub nickel and sub dime: Hamilton was the slot corner; Niemann and Hitchens both played dime LB with Hitchens playing in normal and down distance situations and Niemann on 3rd down and long yardage
Chiefs also played snaps of 3-2-6 dime with Niemann and O’Daniel the LB, 3-2-6 dime is more the changeup than a foundation
Mathieu gives the Chiefs versatility in their big nickel versus 11 personnel, He can match up to slot receivers
First 3rd and long Chiefs out of sub dime showed zero blitz with late movement to cover 2 invert with slot corner Hamilton the middle hole defender
Chiefs snaps of 2 man out of dime on 3rd and long, with Niemann matched on the TE and Sorenson on the back; Also snaps of cover 1 out of dime on 3rd down with Sorenson matched on the TE
Chiefs predominantly an over front defense with Jones the 3-technique DT, Jones a tough one-on-one assignment for OG
Texans featured snaps with Da. Johnson and Du. Johnson, both in 21 and 20 personnel
DC Spagnuolo does not always match his personnel to the opponent’s personnel – He went dime versus 12 on 2nd + 4 on Texans second possession
Chiefs played significant snaps of man coverage out of dime: 2 man, cover 1, 1 robber – Mathieu gives the Chiefs outstanding position versatility in their man concepts
Sorenson also a versatile defender in the Chiefs big nickel and sub dime defenses, used as a man-to-man defender on both TE and backs, and as a blitzer in multiple zone pressure concepts
O’Daniel out of 3-2-6 dime used as a spy on 3rd and long in 3rd quarter
DC Spagnuolo will show some zero blitz at times on 3rd down out of sub dime
Watson continued to be unsettled at times in the pocket, Too much unnecessary movement with his feet lacking a firm base
Da. Johnson showed jump cut and re-acceleration burst, lateral quickness and smooth cuts; Still a little upright and therefore his cuts are more measured and methodical than quick and explosive
EAGLES OFFENSE VERSUS WASHINGTON DEFENSE
Herbig started at RG, Rookie Driscoll started at RT for the Eagles
Eagles started the game with 2 different play action concepts, Wentz good balance with a firm base in the pocket: Goedert 16 yards, Jackson 19 yards on dagger concept
Moreland and Darby were the outside corners in Washington’s base defense; In sub nickel Moreau played outside with Moreland moving into the slot, Bostic and Pierre-Louis were the nickel LB
There were also sub nickel snaps with Moreland staying outside with Darby and Curl playing the slot, Curl played 22 snaps
Ertz 5 yard TD was an outstanding job by Wentz: Play design was Arcega-Whiteside on the in-breaker, Washington took that away with safety Collins keeping his depth; Wentz came back to the other side and hit Ertz on the back side crosser
Washington tilted front on 3rd + 2 out of sub nickel versus Eagles 12 personnel on second possession, They went cover 1 with Collins matched on Ertz and Pierre-Louis matched on Goedert
Washington used different players to match up to Ertz and Goedert when they played man coverage out of sub nickel versus Eagles 12 personnel: Collins and Moreau matched up on Ertz, Pierre-Louis and Bostic matched up on Goedert
RT Driscoll responsible for first Washington sack, He reacted to safety Apke on the edge blitz dropping Kerrigan who was his responsibility
Sweat used as a spy on Wentz on 3rd + 8 late in the 1st quarter
Washington significant snaps of sub nickel versus Eagles 12 personnel
Wentz ball placement must become more precise, If it does not he will be a week-to-week player capable of the spectacular but not consistent – Secondly Wentz needs to get a better feel for game situations and not try to make every play, Can’t play hero ball all the time
Two things stood out as the game progressed: Washington more sub nickel versus Eagles 12 personnel, and they increased their blitz frequency
Washington treated Ertz as TE1 and Goedert as TE2 in their man coverage concepts, with Collins or Moreau on Ertz and Bostic or Pierre-Louis on Goedert – Goedert 34 yard TD came on slot fade out of 02 empty beating Pierre-Louis
Moreau interception late in 1st half was a poor throw by Wentz: Not enough velocity and too far to the inside
Reagor slowed down on his deep post late in the 1st half, It was actually a perfect throw by Wentz – Effective 2 man post-corner route combination versus Washington cover 4
Eagles snaps of 02 personnel on 3rd down, They went empty out of that personnel grouping
Moreland interception on Eagles first possession of 3rd quarter was on Hightower, He took too many steps on the hitch route and never came back to the ball
Wentz sailed bang 8 to Ertz in the 3rd quarter from the plus 25 yard line (same play as TD versus Bears last season), Ertz wide open versus Darby – Could have been a TD
Wentz bad throw to wide open Reagor on the dig late in the 3rd quarter (dagger), Then he badly overthrew Ward on an in-breaker on the very next play – Can’t miss those throws
Wentz was consistently inaccurate in the 2nd half, Did not give his receivers a chance
Eagles 50 called passes and 17 called runs – The makeup of the OL and the nature of the game did not call for that
Bostic played every snap, Pierre-Louis played every snap but one; Moreland also played every snap – Rookie slot corner Curl flashed
REDSKINS OFFENSE VERSUS EAGLES DEFENSE
Eagles sub nickel: Robey-Coleman was the slot corner with Gerry and Riley the LB; Eagles sub dime: LeBlance played inside with Robey-Coleman, Gerry was the only LB
Riley an intriguing player in the Eagles sub nickel, He has speed to play in coverage and match up man-to-man on backs
Eagles base defense had Edwards as the MIKE LB flanked by Gerry and Riley
Washington through the first quarter into the second quarter played significant snaps with Gibson and McKissic on the field in 21 personnel groupings, Multiple formation looks
Slay predominantly lined up over McLaurin in both man and zone coverage concepts, But Slay did not match up when McLaurin was in the slot
In cover 1 out of sub nickel Mills was the predominant TE matchup, There were also cover 1 snaps in which Riley matched up on the TE; There were 1 robber snaps out of sub dime on 3rd down in which Gerry matched up on the TE, McLeod was the robber
DT Jackson physically handled LG Martin through Washington’s early possessions, Jackson flashed both as a run defender and pass rusher
Eagles featured tilted fronts out of sub dime with LB Gerry the wild card opposite the tilted front
Mills gives the Eagles coverage versatility in their man coverage concepts, He can match up to both TE and WR; We saw the Eagles present a lot of different matchups when they played cover 1 out of their sub defenses
Eagles game plan was clearly to rush their 4 DL and play coverage behind it, It was a conservative approach
Eagles went with 5 man pressure on 3rd + 4 on Washington’s first possession of 3rd quarter, They had a 5 man DL out of sub dime with a diamond front; Sweat beat LT Christian off the edge for the sack-forced fumble
My sense watching the tape was the Eagles believed their DL could win the matchup versus the Washington OL and that Haskins could not beat them, They did not blitz much at all and they played a lot of off coverage
MIKE LB Edwards is a liability in pass coverage, If you can you want to line up in 12 personnel and attack the middle of the field with your passing game off run action
Gibson the slot receiver out of 12 personnel in the 4th quarter with Barber the I back: Gibson jet sweep
On Washington’s 4th quarter winning TD drive they went no huddle – I think we will see more of that as the season progresses, Haskins is comfortable with it
Eagles went zero blitz on 3rd + 9 on Washington plus 23 on winning TD drive: Inman 10 yards versus off coverage corner Maddox, Slant-flat to the boundary
COWBOYS OFFENSE VERSUS RAMS DEFENSE
Rams sub nickel: Ramsey and Williams the outside corners, Hill the slot; 5 across Bear front with Floyd and Ebukam the predominant edge players (Hollins also snaps) and Kiser the stacked LB
Rams also played a 4 man DL sub nickel front with Kiser and Young the LB, Okoronkwo snaps as an edge rusher in the 4 man front – That was their predominant sub nickel as the game progressed but they came back to 5 across Bear front significant snaps in the 4th quarter
In the Rams base defense Young was the second LB with Kiser, Ramsey and Hill were the outside corners – Rams at times played base versus Cowboys 11 personnel
Rams base defense shoed a 3-4 look but it was more 1-gap than 2-gap re: concept, Donald was a gap player; Rams also featured 4-3 fronts out of base: over fronts with the weak side LB on the ball
Rams sub dime: Rapp was the dime defender, Kiser was the only LB; Rapp only played 15 snaps in the sub dime and almost half of them came on Cowboys final possession – Rams sub defense was foundationally nickel
First possession the Cowboys featured Lamb a snap with offset in the backfield and Elliott split to the boundary
Rams featured tilted fronts out of dime – It’s a tactic to dictate pass protection and create matchups to the 3 man side with stunts or individually and to create one-on-one matchups for the back side edge rusher, Kiser was the wild card re: alignment
Ramsey was predominantly the boundary corner in the Rams defense, He did not match up to a specific receiver but more snaps matched on Gallup since Gallup was primarily the Cowboys boundary x receiver
Johnson was predominantly the boundary safety with Fuller the field safety in the Rams defense
Rams multiple with their front looks out of sub nickel, both re: personnel and alignments
Gallup, just as he was last season, was predominantly the Cowboys boundary x receiver
In the 2nd half Ramsey played more snaps of press man coverage, especially when he was the boundary corner; Rams played snaps of cover 3 boundary lock but also featured snaps of 2 man in dime with boundary safety Rapp cheating inside, Ramsey was playing zero man
Safety Johnson was the predominant TE matchup in the Rams man coverage concepts out of sub nickel and sub dime
Kiser an important piece to the Rams defense, He played every snap and he flashed
Rams went zero blitz out of sub nickel on 3rd + 6 from +15 yard line late in 3rd quarter; Johnson was a rusher and Fuller was a man coverage defender, Young was a blitzer and Kiser was a coverage defender
My sense is you will see Floyd consistently line up on the edge opposite Donald, Almost all OL slide to Donald so that gives Floyd a one-on-one matchup with the OT – Late 4th quarter sack a great example
Floyd will also line up as the wide 9 opposite tilted fronts in the sub dime, Again creating a one-on-one matchup versus the OT
Floyd was a factor as an edge rusher on the Cowboys final possession: sack and pressure
BRONCOS OFFENSE VERSUS TITANS DEFENSE
Titans sub nickel: Joseph and Butler were the outside corners (Joseph left corner, Butler right corner) with rookie Jackson in the slot, Evans and Brown were the LB; Hooker was the sub dime safety (as he was in 2019)
In the Titans base 3-4 front the 3 DL were predominantly Simmons, Dickerson and Jones; Titans multiple with their front alignments - Titans a lot of DL rotation with Dickerson, Crawford and Mack all getting meaningful snaps
In their base 4-3 front Simmons lined up at 3-technique and Clowney was a stacked LB – Clowney shot a gap from stacked LB alignment and stopped Lindsay for no gain on Broncos second possession
Clowney used at times as a standup Joker in the sub nickel, all part of Titans multiple front looks out of both sub and base
Titans first 3rd and long went cover 1 out of sub dime with Byard matched on TE Fant, Vaccaro on the back and Hooker the post safety; Diamond front with Clowney in wide 9 alignment and Simmons the 0-technique
Rookie Fulton played significant snaps at left corner, In the 3rd quarter and 4th quarter Fulton snaps in the slot (Jackson came back in the slot in the 4th quarter) – Titans featured 2 rookies playing significant snaps in the secondary
Evans disqualified late in the 1st quarter after 13 snaps, Compton replaced him; Long also some snaps with Brown in the sub nickel
Clowney some disruptive snaps in the 1st half, including one in which he slid inside and beat LG Risner on a pass rush with his strong hands and a club move
Titans at times still featured disguise and late movement out of their sub defenses – Vaccaro tackle on Gordon -2 yards on quick flat throw in 3rd quarter a great example
On 3rd + 12 in 3rd quarter Titans went cover 2 out of sub dime with Hooker at boundary corner and Fulton one of the 2 deep safeties with Byard
Titans out of sub dime on 3rd and long showed a tilted front look – My sense is they would have shown more of that with Evans in the game
Jeudy showed outstanding route running ability (he looked the same as he did at Alabama), He had 2 bad drops but his nuanced understanding of route running and his separation quickness is high level and was evident throughout the game – Jeudy was open all game
Jeudy lined up both outside and the slot in the Broncos offense depending on personnel and formation – From the slot he beat Fulton press man coverage on a quick slant with excellent run-after-catch on 4th quarter TD drive
Lock played with poise and composure both in and out of the pocket, He was consistently accurate; He still needs work on his lower body mechanics with a tendency to open his hips and step in the bucket, and at times drift off the mid-line to his left
Titans did not generate much pass rush pressure with their front four, and they did not blitz a high percentage
Titans diamond front out of sub dime on 3rd + 3 with 5 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter trailing 14-13, Dictated Landry one-on-one matchup with RT Wilkinson and Landry beat Wilkinson off the edge to get quick pressure on Lock – Jeudy wide open on the deep crosser versus Jackson in Titans cover 1
TITANS OFFENSE VERSUS BRONCOS DEFENSE
Broncos base defense: Bouye and Callahan the outside corners, Attachou and Chubb the OLB in the 3-4 front with Reed playing significant snaps
Broncos sub nickel: Bouye and rookie Ojemudia the outside corners with Callahan moving into the slot, Jewell and Johnson were the LB
Brown wide open on in-breaker on second Tannehill drop back but Henry could not block Attachou
Broncos some snaps of sub dime, both 4-1-6 and 3-2-6, They played man coverage out of dime: 1 robber and 2 man
NT Purcell gave the Titans OL problems last season in the run game and on Henry’s first run (gap scheme: power) Purcell beat RG Davis
It was evident through the Titans first 2 possessions that Purcell was going to be a tough assignment again for the interior of the Titans OL
Casey also flashed in the run game, He was disruptive with his quickness off the ball; Harris also flashed in the run game – Overall the Titans interior OL struggled to control the POA
Brown continued to be the x receiver in the Titans passing game, with Davis the z receiver
Davis 20 yards on 2nd + 4 in 1st quarter was a beautifully schemed play versus cover 4 with the reduced splits, the outside zone stretch run action and post-cross combination; The result was creating a one-on-one matchup for Davis on safety Simmons on the crosser
Davis can be very effective on crossers with his size and stride length, He can away from defenders in man coverage and matchup zone coverage
Titans did not attempt a 1st + 10 shot play in the game, They featured their staple bang play action concepts but were unable to connect on those plays due to Tannehill not turning it loose and pass rush pressure
Overall Titans pass game was very condensed, Not many intermediate throws and no vertical shots
Broncos not a foundational man coverage, Their foundation is zone coverage featuring split safety concepts: cover 4 and cover 6 with snaps of cover 3
Pruitt and Blasingame the fullbacks in the Titans straight I formation run game (same as down the stretch in 2019), Outside zone lead the featured run out of straight I
Titans started the game with a gap scheme run and they started their first possession of the 3rd quarter with a gap scheme run
Safeties Jackson and Simmons just as they did in the matchup last season were factors playing downhill in the run game
Bouye did not play in the 2nd half due to injury, Bassey became the slot corner in sub nickel with Callahan staying outside – Bassey showed up in the run game, He was aggressive
In the 2nd half the Broncos played more snaps of sub nickel versus Titans 12 personnel, There was a stretch of several Titans possessions in the 3rd quarter in which the Broncos played exclusively sub nickel
My sense watching the tape was Henry, due to the lack of space to generate velocity and power through the first half, became a little tentative as the game progressed; There were snaps in which he slowed his feet and Henry is not a re-acceleration runner
LB Jewell and Johnson flashed in the run game, They worked through traffic and scraped and flowed to the football effectively – Johnson played every snap and Jewell played all but 2 snaps
Both OG – RG Davis and LG Saffold – struggled in the run game, It was almost a repeat of what happened last year versus the Broncos
Henry 13 yards on winning FG drive came on one of the few runs in the game in which Henry had room to stride and generate velocity and momentum
JAGUARS OFFENSE VERSUS COLTS DEFENSE
Colts sub nickel: Rhodes and Ya-Sin the outside corners with Moore in the slot, Leonard and Walker the LB with Okereke also getting snaps with Leonard; Carrie also played some snaps spelling both Rhodes and Ya-Sin
Colts base 4-3: LB were Leonard, Walker and Okereke; Colts a predominant over front defense with Buckner the 3-technique DT
Colts strongly defined with their safeties: Willis is the strong safety and Hooker is the free safety
Jaguars RT Taylor had some problems in pass protection over-setting and putting too much weight on his outside leg which caused balance issues and left him susceptible to inside counters
Shenault featured as a movement / motion receiver in the Jaguars offense: Chark 6 yard TD and Shenault 18 yards (both in 2nd quarter) 2 good examples
Shenault 15 yard TD came out of 12 closed to the boundary / stacked twins to the field, Colts overload field blitz out of base resulted in Hooker matched on Shenault; Shenault stutter in-breaker got Hooker to stop his feet – Good blitz recognition by back Robinson crossing the formation
Part of Colts 3rd down sub nickel front package were tilted fronts – It’s a strong trend in the NFL right now
Shenault motion was a factor on 2 of Minshew’s 3 TD passes: Chark 6 yard TD and Cole 22 yard TD; Shenault’s motion across the formation grabbed eyes of defenders and created space and defined throws for Minshew
2 of Minshew’s 3 TD passes came versus Colts blitzes: Shenault 15 yard TD and Cole 22 yard TD; Different pressure concepts
Robinson runs: Iso lead weak out of 21 straight I with Miller the fullback, Outside zone as I back off TE stem motion (Colts in over front did not adjust front to the TE motion), Inside zone-mid zone out of shotgun, Outside zone out of shotgun
MINSHEW 2019 VERSUS TITANS WEEK 3
Chark 22 yard TD on 3rd + 9: Chark fade versus Butler press man, Precise ball placement throw by Minshew
Chark 37 yards came on go route versus bailing Butler, Butler in good position just did not play the ball well
Butler had some tough snaps, He was also beaten by Conley 15 yards on slant route with Conley physically handling Butler in press man
Minshew very poised in the pocket with a very clear understanding of where to go with the ball, He has a refined sense of timing and he’s consistently precise with his ball placement
COLTS OFFENSE VERSUS JAGUARS DEFENSE
Jaguars sub nickel: Henderson and Herndon the outside corners with Hayden in the slot, Jack and Schobert were the LB
Jacobs was the third LB with Jack and Schobert in the Jaguars base 4-3, at times lining up on the ball as the SLB; Jacobs did not play many snaps versus the Colts
Jones was the 1-technique DT on 1st down and in normal down and distance situations, Hamilton (1-technique) and Jernigan (3-technique) also snaps inside at DT in the run defense front, Gotsis snaps at DE
First 3rd and long the Jaguars played 2 man out of sub nickel, Schobert was the TE matchup; Allen and rookie Chaisson lined up on the same side with Allen inside and Chaisson outside but both outside the OT
Allen and Chaisson lined up on the same side both outside the OT was a foundational alignment on 3rd down out of sub nickel
Colts foundational personnel grouping was 11, Campbell and Hilton played the most snaps at WR with Pascal and Pittman also getting significant snaps – Colts only 4 snaps out of base personnel on 1st down, including 2 out of 6 OL personnel
Hines a featured role in the Colts offense, a role that will likely increase with Mack out for the year
Henderson interception came on Colts first 3rd and long, Jaguars played a 2 man concept with Henderson the boundary corner matched on Pittman; Henderson played a trap technique allowing Pittman to run by him and turning back inside to trap slot receiver Hilton on the out route – Intriguing play by Henderson because boundary safety Wilson did not rotate over the top of Henderson
Jaguars predominantly featured zone coverage concepts on 1st + 10 with cover 3 a foundation, at times with boundary lock on the x; Wilson was primarily the post safety
Jaguars sub nickel pass rush featured multiple front looks; Allen used in different alignments including standup Joker, Smoot lined up both outside at DE and inside at DT
Rivers still showed the pocket toughness to make tough throws under pressure: Campbell 17 yards on 3rd + 7 in 2nd quarter
2 man was a foundation coverage out of sub nickel on 3rd and long for the Jaguars – Jaguars also featured tilted fronts out of sub nickel
Jaguars featured split safety coverages on 3rd and long, 2 man, cover 2 and cover 4; Schobert was the middle hole defender in cover 2 – Wingard 4th quarter interception came out of cover 4
Safety Wilson hurt in the 2nd half, replaced by Wingard – Wilson now on injured reserve
When the Jaguars went cover 1 blitz out of sub nickel versus Colts 11 personnel late in the game safety Wingard was the TE matchup
Jaguars exclusive nickel out of sub, They did not play 1 snap of dime – Schobert and Mack played every snap
CARDS OFFENSE VERSUS 49ERS DEFENSE
49ers sub nickel: Sherman at left corner, Moseley at right corner, Williams in the slot; Warner and Alexander were the LB – 49ers sub dime had Moore as the sixth defensive back, Warner the only LB; 49ers only 2 snaps of sub dime
Sherman played some snaps at right corner to match up over Hopkins, It wasn’t necessarily man-to-man; 49ers played significant snaps of cover 4 which becomes man depending on the WR route
Overall the 49ers did not match Sherman on Hopkins, Sherman at this point is a better zone corner than man-to-man corner
49ers showed 1 robber out of sub dime on 3rd and long with Moore the robber, Ward was matched on inside slot Fitzgerald in Cards 1x3 set; We saw that a lot last season versus trips, 49ers comfortable with Ward matched on WR in the inside slot to trips
When the 49ers went cover 1 blitz out of sub nickel on 3rd + 6 early in the 2nd quarter they did not match Sherman on Hopkins, Sherman played his usual left corner position
49ers as they did last season continued to feature tilted fronts out of sub nickel, Warner was the wild card as the standup 3-technique
Greenlaw was the third LB in 49ers base defense, with Warner and Alexander; Givens played snaps inside at DT in both base and sub
Murray the arm strength to make far hash / opposite sideline throws – He threw the ball well versus the 49ers
Murray QB draw on 1st + 10 from -14 yard line – His legs are a significant part of the Cards offense
Cards featured 1x3 sets out of 11 personnel, Arnold was the boundary x TE – Arnold the kind of athleticism that can be effective at the boundary x
Hopkins caught several out routes versus 49ers cover 4 with both Sherman and Moseley playing off coverage – When a corner plays with outside leverage with his body position inside he is giving up the out route
Murray 25 yards on 3rd + 17 early in 3rd quarter came out of 10 2x2 versus 49ers soft cover 4 behind 4 man DL rush out of sub nickel, Vertical route concept (double post-deep crosser combination) created depth in the coverage and gave Murray room to run
Snaps in which the 49ers out of sub nickel split safety cover 4 doubled Hopkins when he was the boundary x on the back side of trips, Warner was the hook-to-curl defender to the field and he would match up to #3 vertical
Murray 22 yard TD on 2nd + 8 came versus 49ers MIKE-STAR blitz out of sub nickel, DE Armstead would have peeled to match up to Edmonds if he released immediately outside; Murray had the throw to wide open Kirk on the curl route with no pressure in the pocket but he saw green grass and took off
49ers significant snaps of cover 4 out of sub nickel, It looked to be a foundational coverage in this matchup
Kingsbury did a good job minimizing 49ers 4 man DL pass rush with quick game and timing concepts – 49ers foundational game plan approach was 4 man pass rush with cover 4 behind it
SEAHAWKS OFFENSE VERSUS FALCONS DEFENSE
Seahawks had 28 first down plays (not including game ending kneel down), They had 17 called passes
Falcons sub nickel: Oliver and rookie Terrell the outside corners with Kazee or Dennard in the slot, Kazee also snaps at post safety rotating with Allen while Allen some snaps at box safety rotating with Neal
Falcons continued featuring Bear fronts in their sub nickel defense, Fowler was a standup edge player
Falcons game plan approach was to play sub nickel, Neal was predominantly deployed as a LB; They played some snaps of base with Walker the third LB
When the Falcons went cover 1 out of sub nickel versus Seahawks 11 personnel Neal was the TE matchup
Seahawks game plan on 1st down featured 11 personnel and throwing the ball with quick game timing throws, play action boot and multiple screen concepts – Carson 19 yard TD came on a well-executed boundary screen
Metcalf 38 yard TD on 4th + 5 came out if 11 3x1 with Metcalf the boundary x, He beat Oliver press with physicality and burst/speed on the fade; Falcons nickel cover 3 with Oliver boundary lock on Metcalf
Olsen 7 yard TD came out of 11 1x3 set with Olsen flexed and Carson offset to the boundary, Wilson worked the 2 man side with Olsen out-leveraging corner Terrell on the timing in-breaker
Seahawks feature Lockett on crossers, often as part of post-cross combination with Metcalf; Lockett the speed to run away from man coverage
Metcalf almost always lined up on the left side of the offensive formation – Falcons played Oliver at right corner and Terrell at left corner
Metcalf 37 yards on 2nd + 9 in 4th quarter came with Metcalf plus split in twins to the right side of the formation: Sluggo versus Terrell in in off coverage cover 3
Seahawks some 3rd down snaps out of 10 personnel, Swain was the fourth WR; Swain 17 yards on 3rd + 19
FALCONS OFFENSE VERSUS SEAHAWKS DEFENSE
Seahawks sub nickel: Dunbar at right corner, Griffin at left corner with Blair in the slot; Hill was the sub dime defender
When the Seahawks went 2 man out of sub dime Hill was the TE matchup
Gurley was featured in the zone run game, He showed some stop-and-start and short area burst on 15 yard run on first possession
Gurley 9 yard run late in 1st quarter came on pin-pull concept – Gurley needs space to generate some velocity and momentum, He is not shifty or elusive
Falcons multiple run game concepts with Gurley: outside zone, inside zone, gap scheme, pin-pull, delay draw (10 yards in 2nd quarter)
Adams excellent recognition and plant and drive as a quarters safety on first Jones target, in-breaker on 2nd + 9 on Falcons first possession
Adams great job cutting the Jones drive route on 3rd + 11 on Falcons second possession, Seahawks 2 man out of sub dime
Adams used as a blitzer, with slot corner Blair also snaps as a blitzer
Seahawks first unit sub defense pass rushers: Mayowa and Irvin at DE, Green and Reed at DT
Seahawks featured Bear fronts out of base with Irvin on the LOS, primarily with Mayowa the other standup edge player; Irvin predominantly played on the ball in all personnel packages
Seahawks featured tilted front on 3rd down out of sub dime with Wagner the wild card based on the defensive call
Tilted fronts out of sub dime, Double mug fronts out of sub nickel: 2 staples of the Seahawks sub defenses – Adams 2nd quarter sack came out of double mug front
Seahawks played significant snaps of cover 4 with Adams as a split safety with Diggs
Falcons featured levels and hi-low concepts versus zone coverage, Saw a lot of that versus Seahawks split safety
Ridley looked very smooth and fluid as a route runner, Excellent route and separation quickness; He looked explosive
Mayowa looks to be a critical player in the Seahawks defense, both in base and sub
Wagner and Adams were the 2 Seahawks defenders who played every snap; Blair played 55 snaps in the slot, Hill played 29 snaps in the sub dime
BEN ROETHLISBERGER VERSUS GIANTS DEFENSE
Giants sub dime: Bradberry and Ballantine were the outside corners with rookie Holmes in the slot; Sub dime featured 3 safeties: Love, Ryan and Peppers with Martinez the only LB
In cover 1 out of sub dime versus 11 personnel Peppers was the TE matchup – Giants featured tilted fronts out of sub dime
My sense is the Giants will be a predominant man coverage defense given Joe Judge’s background with Saban and Belichick, and DC Patrick Graham’s background with Belichick and Flores
Giants played cover 1 and 2 man and 1 robber out of sub dime, In 2 man Love and Ryan were the split safeties, In cover 1 Ryan predominantly matched up to the back with Love the post safety
Martinez and Downs were the Giants sub nickel LB in their 4 man DL front; They also featured 5 across Bear front out of sub nickel with Martinez the stacked LB and 3 safeties in big nickel package
Giants also featured 3 man rush with 2 underneath zone defenders in cover 1 concept – Ebron 18 yards on 3rd + 5 on crosser running away from Peppers
Smith-Schuster 10 yard TD on 3rd + 7 in 2nd quarter came out of 12 personnel versus Giants sub dime, Giants zero blitz (right out of the Belichick school of high red zone zero blitz); Smith-Schuster great route to beat corner Yiadom
Carter the wild card in the Giants sub dime front, He was deployed in multiple alignments including standup Joker
Giants very multiple with their front alignments out of sub dime – That will be a staple all season
Steelers great 2 play sequence with Smith-Schuster on late 2nd quarter TD drive to attack rookie slot corner Holmes: First play was shallow crosser off natural Ebron rub, Second play showed same shallow crosser off Ebron rub with Smith-Schuster then pivot route to the sideline
Steelers late 2nd quarter TD drive featured excellent tactical concepts to defeat Giants press man, including Washington 13 yard TD
Giants featured 2 fronts out of sub nickel: 5 across Bear front, and 4 man DL front with 2 stacked LB
Roethlisberger looked comfortable and threw the ball well, Steelers did an excellent job attacking and defeating Giants high percentage man coverage concepts
Steelers run game foundation with Snell was gap scheme, It fits Snell’s decisive downhill workmanlike running traits effectively; Snell is an efficient compact runner
AARON RODGERS VERSUS VIKINGS DEFENSE
Hughes and rookie Dantzler were the outside corners in the Vikings base 4-3 defense, Hill also played snaps in base; In sub nickel Hughes moved in the slot and Hill played outside with Dantzler, Rookie Gladney also some snaps in the slot
Packers featured misdirection concepts out of shotgun in their pass game, with hard outside zone run action to dictate defensive flow and then Rodgers threw away from flow; Slowed down pass rush
Adams 24 yard TD came on second reaction movement by Rodgers versus Vikings nickel cover 2; Valdes-Scantling 45 yard TD came on go route versus cover 4 with Rodgers making a great throw, Throw beat good coverage by Dantzler
Vikings out of sub nickel matched up Hill on Adams when Adams lined up outside – Adams significant snaps at boundary x
Valdes-Scantling 2 big vertical catches, one from the outside versus Dantzler and one from the slot versus Hughes
What stood out was Packers OL did an excellent job in pass protection, and Rodgers threw the ball exceptionally well from the pocket within the structure of the Packers pass game; Rodgers particularly precise with his ball location on dep balls
Vikings more snaps of single high safety coverage than we usually see, Harris was the post safety with Smith the box safety – Vikings played over 40% man coverage
MITCHELL TRUBISKY VERSUS LIONS DEFENSE – 3RD + 4TH QUARTER
Lions sub nickel: Trufant and Oruwariye on the outside with Coleman in the slot, Roberts also snaps in the slot
Bears snaps of 01 personnel with 4 WR and Graham the TE, Lions matched up with sub dime with 3 corners and 3 safeties
Bears snaps with Montgomery and Cohen on the field
Lions also snaps of dime versus Bears 11 personnel, Safety Walker was the predominant TE matchup in the Lions man coverage concepts but safety Harris also snaps as the TE matchup
Patterson was used in multiple ways in the Bears offense, lining up in the backfield and as a split receiver; Bears very multiple with their personnel groupings
Trubisky continued to struggle with his ball placement, He is not a naturally accurate passer – That is not likely to change
Graham 16 yards from Lions 17 yard line came versus Lions cover zero out of sub dime with Harris matched on Graham, Trubisky avoided unblocked J. Okwara and made an excellent second reaction throw
Miller 27 yard TD to win the game came on slot fade versus Lions nickel cover 1 with backup corner McRae matched on Miller, Good throw by Trubisky and an excellent catch by Miller versus quality man coverage by McRae– McRae was in the game due to the injury to Trufant
Two things continued to stand out with Trubisky: he does not see things clearly so elimination and isolation process is too slow (unless of course it’s man coverage), and most problematic of all, his ball placement is inconsistent and erratic
